The corporate parent of Lids Sports Group said Thursday that it is still optimistic a buyer can be found for the struggling Zionsville-based headwear retailer while acknowledging that the process has taken longer than expected.

Nashville, Tennessee-based retail conglomerate Genesco Inc. announced in February that it planned to sell Lids, whose sales performance has been on the decline in recent quarters.

“We are still working diligently and believe we still have a reasonable prospect of accomplishing a sale,” Genesco Chairman, President and CEO Robert Dennis said Thursday morning during an earnings call with analysts. “If we ultimately determine we are not able to complete a sale on acceptable terms, we will announce that decision. We do remain convinced of the potential of the core of the Lds business, and therefore, in the event we don’t sell, we will be immediately focused on the plan to realize that potential and significantly enhance profitability of the business.”

Genesco’s other business units are footwear-focused, including the youth-oriented Journeys Group, men’s clothing and shoe retailer Johnston & Murphy Group and Europe-based footwear retailer Schuh Group. About three-fourths of Genesco’s revenue comes from shoe sales.

Lids is the second-largest of Genesco’s holdings, bringing in about a quarter of the company’s total revenue, but the retailer is struggling.

Genesco reported a third quarter profit of $14.4 million, or 74 cents per share while Lids posted an operating loss of $388,000.

For the third quarter, Lids’ comparable sales dropped 2 percent while Genesco's comparable sales rose 4 percent. Comparable sales, an important retail metric, includes sales from both physical stores and websites that have been in operation for more than a year.

Year to date, over three quarters, Genesco has turned in a profit of $12 million while Lids took an operating loss of $4.6 million.

As of Nov. 3, Lids operated 1,116 stores, including 119 Locker Room by Lids locations in Macy’s department stores. The store count is down 10 percent from January 2017.

Please enable JavaScript to view this content.

Story Continues Below

Editor's note: IBJ is now using a new comment system. Your Disqus account will no longer work on the IBJ site. Instead, you can leave a comment on stories by signing in to your IBJ account. If you have not registered, please sign up for a free account now. Past comments are not currently showing up on stories, but they will be added in the coming weeks. Please note our updated comment policy that will govern how comments are moderated.

Events

Health Care & Benefits Power Breakfast Find out about the latest trends in health care at our Health Care & Benefits Power Breakfast. Our panel of local executives will offer insight and forecast for what's ahead on September 26th.
Purchase your tickets now!Women of Influence Meet and network with some of the city's most powerful and inspirational women at IBJ's 2019 Women of Influence on October 31st.
Purchase your tickets now!

Nominations

Michael A. Carroll Award Nominations IBJ's Michael A. Carrol award is given in memory of former mayor & civic leader Michael Carroll. This award honors a man or woman who demonstrates Mike's qualities of determination, humility and devotion to the central Indiana community. Nominate now!CFO of the Year Award Nominations IBJ's CFO of the Year honors financial professionals in Indiana for outstanding performance in their roles as financial stewards of corporations and not-for-profit /government organizations. Nominate today!